Once upon a time, there lived a young and happy elephant named Ellie. Ellie lived in a big and clean jungle with all of her animal friends. One day, Ellie came across a beautiful and new pond. She was so happy to finally have a place to take a bath and play in the water.

However, when she got into the water, she noticed that there was an ugly and dirty old turtle who was also trying to take a bath. Ellie was surprised to see such a long and wrinkled turtle, she had never seen anything like it before.

Ellie asked the turtle, "Why are you so old and dirty?" The turtle replied, "I've been living in this jungle for a very long time, and I haven't had a chance to clean myself in a while."

Ellie felt sorry for the turtle, so she offered to help him clean up. They spent the whole day splashing around and scrubbing each other clean. By the end of the day, they both looked and felt brand new.

From that day on, Ellie and the turtle became best friends, and they would always play and take baths together. Ellie learned that even though someone might look different or ugly on the outside, it doesn't mean they can't be happy and beautiful on the inside.

Reflections

• What did Ellie think of the turtle at first?
• Why did Ellie decide to help the turtle?
• How did Ellie and the turtle feel after they finished cleaning each other?
• What did Ellie learn about the turtle?
• What is the lesson Ellie learned in the story?